Carfield Primary School

Inspection of Carfield Primary School Argyle Close, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S8 9HJ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 19 and 20 April 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Following the school’s last inspection, leaders have continued to work hard to improve the school in the absence of the acting headteacher. They are currently making multiple changes to the whole-school curriculum, including the wider personal development offer. These changes demonstrate that leaders have high expectations for every child. However, these expectations are not yet being realised in practice. Leaders do not consistently check that the changes they are making are having a positive impact on pupil achievement.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and confident. Leaders’ improvements to safeguarding arrangements and practices in the school mean that pupils feel safe and are safe. The learning environment is generally calm and purposeful. Many pupils behave well, but there are some pupils who display challenging behaviour. This sometimes causes disruption to learning. Leaders have implemented a new behaviour policy. Pupils and staff show an understanding of this, but it is not yet adhered to or applied consistently across the school. Bullying is not a problem here. Pupils are confident that bullying would be sorted out quickly if it happened.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders plan a range of opportunities to enrich pupils’ experience at school and to develop their talents and interests. Pupils can take part in sports clubs, learn to play an instrument or be part of initiatives such as the ‘eco squad’. Educational visits and visitors to school enhance learning across the curriculum.

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better?

Leaders have reviewed the whole-school curriculum, including the curriculum in early years. As a result, the curriculums in many subjects are new. Leaders have identified the key knowledge that they want pupils to learn. However, sometimes, for example in history, teachers do not make appropriate choices about the resources and teaching materials to use so that pupils acquire this knowledge. As a result, pupils’ attitudes to learning vary and they find it difficult to talk about their learning. Leaders are working to further develop the way that teachers check what pupils know and remember.

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better?

The curriculum in the early years is logically organised and sequenced. Teachers are not fully aware of how to personalise the curriculum to meet the needs of the children in their class. The interactions that take place between adults and children are not sharply focused on extending children’s language and learning. The purpose of some activities within the provision is not clear and, as a result, children do not always engage with activities in the way that adults intend. There are several opportunities within the provision for children to develop early mathematical skills. Reading, however, does not have a high profile within the setting, despite leaders understanding that reading needs to be a priority. 19 and 20 April 2023

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The programme for teaching phonics is embedded across the school. All adults teach phonics consistently. Pupils’ reading books match the sounds that they know. Sometimes, pupils find the ‘tricky words’ in their books hard to read. Adults quickly identify any pupils who are struggling to learn to read. They support pupils to catch up by using small-group interventions. Most of these interventions are taught by skilled staff. Leaders are developing the culture of reading for pleasure in the school. Pupils’ attitudes towards reading are mixed. The texts that teachers choose to use in some reading lessons do not engage and inspire pupils in the same way that some of the other texts used in school do.

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Leaders have focused on the early and accurate identification of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers, with the support of the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCo), use effective strategies to support these pupils to access the curriculum alongside their peers. Support plans are generally detailed. However, some plans for pupils with more complex needs lack precision. Interventions are used to support some pupils with SEND, but the adults who deliver these have not always had the required training.

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Leaders have carefully considered how to promote the positive personal development of pupils. However, this is not yet embedded. Pupils’ knowledge and understanding of several aspects within the personal development curriculum are limited. Pupils know that they are taught about equality and diversity, but they do not demonstrate respect and tolerance for others consistently. Their knowledge of different faiths is sometimes jumbled. Pupils can talk about how to stay physically and mentally healthy. They also know some ways to keep themselves safe online and offline.

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Leaders are determined to bring about some stability and reassurance for staff and pupils during what is currently an unsettled period for the school. Governors are supporting them effectively to do this and are fulfilling their statutory duties. Results from the parent survey show that some parents and carers have concerns about the communication they receive from the school. Leaders are taking action to address this.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Since the last inspection, leaders have further improved the safeguarding arrangements in the school. Appropriate procedures are in place to ensure that the right staff are recruited. Staff and governors receive regular safeguarding training and updates. They speak confidently about the action they would take if they had concerns about a pupil or a member of staff. Safeguarding records are detailed and demonstrate that staff take timely and appropriate action, including enlisting the support of external agencies when necessary. Leaders are adapting the curriculum so that there is a sharper focus on how pupils learn to keep themselves safe. 19 and 20 April 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculums for many subjects, including in the early years, are not yet implemented as intended by leaders. This means that pupils are not learning and remembering the key knowledge that has been identified on curriculum plans. Leaders should ensure that their expectations for the delivery of the curriculum are clear to teachers so that the quality of teaching becomes consistent across the school. Leaders should also ensure that clear systems are in place for checking what pupils know and remember.  Support plans for some pupils with more complex SEND are not sufficiently detailed. Targets are often too broad in nature. This means that those pupils do not receive the precise support that they need. Leaders should ensure that staff are adequately trained in both how to support these pupils and how to write more-specific targets so that pupils can achieve their full potential.  The new behaviour policy is not yet embedded. It is not adhered to or applied

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

consistently across the school. As a result, some pupils do not behave in line with the high expectations of leaders. Pupils do not consistently show respect and tolerance for others. Leaders should ensure that the behaviour policy is used consistently by all staff and that high expectations are reinforced so that pupils’ behaviour improves.  Leaders, including subject leaders, do not always have an accurate oversight of their area of responsibility. They do not consistently check that the changes that have been made are having an impact. This means that there is some variability in terms of the impact that some improvement strategies are having. Leaders should ensure that strong systems are put in place to check that their ambitious vision for the school is being realised in practice.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 19 and 20 April 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Kate Souper and Eve Harden (co-chairs)

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School details

Headteacher Hannan Mohammed (acting headteacher) Website www.carfieldprimary.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 15 and 16 November 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The chief executive officer of Five Rivers Multi-Academy Trust is currently acting as the executive leader of the school in the absence of the acting headteacher. She is being supported by two assistant headteachers.  Leaders have developed two nurture units within school for pupils with SEND.  The school makes use of one unregistered alternative provider.  The school offers before- and after-school childcare provision. This is managed by the governing body.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 19 and 20 April 2023

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 Inspectors held meetings with the executive leader, the assistant headteachers and the SENDCo. Inspectors also met with subject leaders, governors (including the co-chairs), the improvement partner from the local authority and the director of children’s services from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, art and history. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors reviewed the curriculum for personal, social and health education.  Inspectors observed pupils reading to familiar adults.  Inspectors observed the behaviour of pupils in lessons and during breaktimes.  Inspectors examined the single central record and looked at how safeguarding incidents are reported. Inspectors spoke to leaders, teachers, support staff,

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governors and pupils about the culture of safeguarding in the school.  Inspectors considered the responses made by parents to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. This included any free-text responses. Inspectors also considered the responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Philippa Kermotschuk, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Tim Scargill-Knight His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Pritiben Patel Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 April 2023

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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